CRAIK, Sask. – Saskatchewan organic growers feel they finally have the ear of government.
Premier Lorne Calvert’s appointment of Lon Borgerson as a legislative secretary for organic farming is an acknowledgement of the growing influence of the sector, said Don Kizlyk, president of the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate.
“In order to interact with government you first have to be recognized by government and it has finally happened. We have reached critical mass,” he said.
Kizlyk said a premier’s appointment is a rare occurrence and it shows Calvert is taking a special interest in the organic sector.
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Organic pioneer Elmer Laird, who has been growing crops on his Davidson, Sask., farm without chemicals since 1969, applauded the announcement.
“He has held a press conference to say he is going to do something for organic agriculture. I haven’t heard this in the national news from any other premier in Canada, so he is showing leadership.”
According to Canadian Organic Growers, Saskatchewan is home to 1,245 of the country’s 3,670 certified growers and to 722,283 of Canada’s 1.2 million acres of certified land in production.
Calvert said organics is one of the few sectors of agriculture where his province’s farmers are making any money.
“The economic potential in organics I think is pretty significant,” he said.
Debbie Miller, manager of OCIA Canada, one of the largest organic certifiers, said a big challenge is how to preserve price premiums and keep the money in the hands of small family farms as the sector expands.
“I’m looking for lots of good initiatives and for some ideas to help stop organic agriculture from falling into the same hole that conventional agriculture is in,” she said.
